AI data centers and commercial aviation don't have much in common. Except the fact that both are desperately waiting on the same obscure industrial component: turbine blades and vanes.

Western production of these parts is concentrated in just four companies, according to a SemiAnalysis report: publicly listed Howmet AerospaceHWM

, Berkshire Hathaway-owned Precision Castparts, private-equity-owned Consolidated Precision Products, and DPC HoldingsDPC

, the parent of UK-based Doncasters Group.

Why these parts are so hard to make

Turbine blades and vanes are described as "among the most demanding components modern industry makes."

Each part requires a new wax mold built from scratch. During takeoff, jet engines must withstand temperatures exceeding 3K degrees Fahrenheit while enduring rapid rotations and intense pressure.

The technology for power turbines is similar, even if technical standards are not quite as extreme. The power-turbine market historically has not been large enough to attract a separate supplier base, says Kristine Liwag, equity analyst at Morgan Stanley.

The result is an industry with very high barriers to entry. A new factory line could scrap over 50% of its production for an extended period before achieving acceptable yields, says Ken Herbert, equity analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

Raw material supply adds another constraint. Key inputs like nickel, titanium, cobalt, and vanadium are only sourced from a few regions globally.

The demand surge hitting both industries

On the aviation side, wait times for new aircraft run 10 years or longer. Airlines are flying older planes longer and buying more spare parts to keep them running.

On the power side, GE Vernova's ($GEV) turbine backlog hit 100 gigawatts in the first quarter of 2026. The company expects at least 110GW of orders and slot reservations by year-end, with turbines effectively sold out through 2030.

Siemens Energy has reported a record order backlog of roughly €136B. Mitsubishi is carrying books that stretch about five years, according to industry trackers. Heavy-duty power turbines face backlogs as long as eight years.

The downstream impact is visible in the blade makers' revenue. Howmet's commercial aerospace sales rose 20% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026. Its gas-turbine segment grew 39% in the same period.

Precision Castparts saw aerospace revenue rise 9.4% and gas-turbine revenue climb 18.9%. DPC posted gains of 43% and 29% in the same categories, respectively.

Kodiak Gas ServicesKGS

and Baker HughesBKR

recently announced a multi-year agreement for up to 1.8 gigawatts of power generation capacity, anchored by an initial ~1GW order of gas turbines and generators to be delivered by 2030. The deal is specifically designed to support behind-the-meter power for data centers.

Why overbuilding is unlikely

Past downturns are fresh in memory. Berkshire Hathaway took a $10B write-down on Precision Castparts in 2020.

DPC has posted net losses over the past two years due to high interest costs from a 2020 restructuring loan. The company recently used IPO proceeds to pay down that debt.

Manufacturers "own the fixed costs of the cycle," says Nigel Chiang, analyst at SemiAnalysis. Chasing demand means ordering specialized vacuum furnaces on two-year-plus lead times, hiring and training workers, and building expensive inventories of superalloys.

So far, capacity expansions have been measured. Howmet plans to spend $500M on capital expenditures in 2026, up 10% from the prior year. DPC plans $58M over the next 12 months, up from $31M in 2025, with major customers expected to fund up to 80% of required capacity investment. Liwag says excess capacity should not be a problem before 2030.

What investors are paying for access

Howmet's shares have risen more than fivefold over the past three years. The stock now trades at 49 times forward earnings, a premium over customers GE Vernova and Rolls-Royce, which trade at 40 and 35 times earnings, respectively.

DPC's stock has climbed 46% above its IPO price in the two weeks since its market debut. Higher pricing has already lifted Howmet's operating margins to 25.5% in 2024, up from 16.6% in 2019.

Long backlogs in both aviation and power give these manufacturers room to keep raising prices, with few buyers in a position to walk away.